OUA Announces 2016 Men's Volleyball Major Awards and All-Stars

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is excited to announce the 2015-16 OUA men's volleyball major awards and all-stars, presented by Mikasa.

Left side hitter Stephen Maar (Aurora, Ont.) led the defending champion No. 2 nationally ranked McMaster Marauders to an 18-2 regular season record and for his efforts has been named OUA Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career.

The fourth-year history and political science major led the conference in several statistical categories this season, including: kills per set (4.29), hitting percentage (.395) and points per set (5.0).  The Aurora, Ont. native, who was also named an OUA first-team all-star, also finished in the top ten in service aces per set averaging 0.36.  This is the first all-star selection for Maar who was named to the all-rookie team in 2012-13. 

Joining Maar as an OUA first-team all-star are his McMaster teammates middle hitter Danny Demyanenko (Toronto, Ont.) and setter Andrew Kocur (Toronto, Ont.). 

This is the third straight season that the MVP has suited up for McMaster, as Demyanenko won the award in 2014-15 and former Marauder Jori Mantha took home the hardware in 2013-14.  Demyanenko, a fourth-year justice, political philosophy and law major, led the Marauders and finished third in OUA with 0.43 service aces per set to go along with 1.10 blocks per set.  Demyanenko, who was named 2012-13 OUA and CIS Rookie of the Year, is an OUA all-star for the fourth straight season.

Kocur, a fourth-year economics student-athlete, finished third in the conference averaging 9.89 assists per set.  The Toronto, Ont. native finished the season with 465 assists in 16 matches for the Marauders.

Appearing in 19 matches this year for McMaster, libero Pawel Jedrzejewski (Hamilton, Ont.) has been named an OUA second-team all-star after a season in which he averaged 2.18 digs per set to finish eight in the conference.  The third-year sciences student-athlete recorded double-digit dig totals in five games this year, including a season high 13 on Jan 15 against the Queen's Gaels.  The Hamilton, Ont. native is an all-star for the first time in his career after being named to the all-rookie team in 2013-14.

The future continues to be bright for the Marauders as a pair of outside hitters, Craig Ireland (Beamsville, Ont.) and Matthew Passalent (Hamilton, Ont.), have been selected to the all-rookie team.

Waterloo Warriors libero Erich Woolley (New Dundee, Ont.) and right side hitter Braden Cok (Waterloo, Ont.) will infuse some black and gold into the first-team all-star roster following outstanding individual seasons. 

In his fifth and final season with the Warriors, Woolley has been named an OUA first-team all-star after leading OUA with 2.76 digs per sets.  The English major finished the season ranked second in the conference with 196 digs in 19 games for the Warriors.  Woolley previously won the Libero of the Year award in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Cok, a third-year computer science major, finished fifth in OUA with 3.90 kills per set, while his .249 hitting percentage ranked him 13^th in the conference.  The Waterloo, Ont. native suited up in all 20 games for his hometown Warriors and finished seventh in the conference with 4.4 points per set.

Woolley was made an all-rookie selection following the 2011-12 season, however, this is the first all-star selection for either player.

The Queen's Gaels have a pair of all-stars on their roster as left side hitter Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) and right side hitter Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) have been named to the OUA first-team and second-team, respectively.

Dakic, who spent the previous four years with the York Lions, transferred to Queen's this season and hasn't missed a beat.  The fifth-year law student-athlete finished the regular season ranked seventh in the league averaging 3.67 kills per set to go along with a .350 hitting percentage.  In his final season, Dakic was a fixture in the Gaels lineup appearing in all 20 games for Queen's and led the team with 281 points, which ranked him sixth in OUA.  This is the first all-star selection for Dakic who was named to the all-rookie team in 2011-12.

Playing in his fifth and final season with the Gaels, Tomlinson finished in the top ten in kills per set (3.37), hitting percentage (.286) and points per set (4.0).  The fifth-year biomechanical engineering major was a leader on and off the court for the Gaels and has been recognized for his academic achievement, community involvement, and athletic performance with the Dale Iwanoczko Sportsman Award for the second consecutive season.

Tomlinson, who is currently completing an honours degree in biomedical (mechanical) engineering, is a three-time academic All-Canadian.  The Stratford, Ont. native continues to serve as co-President (second term) of the Queen's Varsity Leadership Council, which organizes varsity athletes for community activities and fundraisers, provides a forum for athletes for athletes to discuss and affect relevant issues, and works to create a culture inclusive to all athletes at Queen's.  Tomlinson is also a member of Gaels Care, which is an elementary school outreach program which sends Queen's varsity athletes into schools to help with literacy, run gym classes, and to speak about bullying, the importance of health, and other important topics. He also serves as a Student Athlete Tutor, which involves tutoring for first and second year engineering students who are struggling to stay academically eligible for Queen's varsity athletics.  When Mike isn't on the court for the Gaels, he coaches at the Pegasus Volleyball Club Center for Excellence, which is a weekly supplemental training session for young volleyball players in Kingston.

Tomlinson is an OUA all-star for the third straight season after being selected to the first-team last season and the second-team in 2013-14.

Following a tremendous rookie season in tricolour, Gaels outside hitter Chris Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) has been named OUA Rookie of the Year and to the conference all-rookie team.  The first-year engineering major appeared in 19 games for Queen's, registering 2.00 kills per set to go along with a .180 hitting percentage.  Brunet becomes the first Gael to win the award since Joren Zeeman in 2007-08 and the fourth player in program history.

Just a year after being named to the all-rookie team, York outside hitter Arthur Szwarc (Toronto, Ont.) will represent the Lions as an OUA first-team all-star.  The second-year liberal arts and professional studies major led the conference with 1.26 blocks per set.  Szwarc was a force to be reckoned with at the net for the Lions as he had 93 blocks in 19 matches this season.

A season removed from a 4-16 record, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues bounced back in a big way.  Under the guidance of head coach John Barrett, Toronto finished fourth in OUA with a 13-7 record and for his efforts, Barrett, who is now in his fifth season behind the Blues bench, has been named OUA Coach of Year.  Barrett, who won CIS gold and was named tournament MVP in 1985 while competing for the University of Manitoba, wins the award for the first time in his career and becomes the first Blues coach  to win the award since Orest Stanko following the 2000-01 season.

On the court, the Blues turnaround was fuelled by a pair of fifth-year seniors as left side hitter Stefan Ristic (Belgrade, Serbia) and setter Aleksa Miladinovic (Toronto, Ont.) have been made second-team all-star selections.

Ristic, a fifth-year Italian/German major, finished second in the conference in kills per set (4.02), service aces per set (0.47) and points per set (4.7).  Despite appearing in just 13 games this season due to injury, the Belgrade, Serbia native finished 14^th in OUA with 223 points and led the Blues to their first home playoff game in the last 12 seasons.

The Blues high-powered aerial attack was fueled by Miladinovic who finished the regular season in the top ten in digs per set (2.20) and assists per set (9.54).  Earlier this year against RMC, the fifth-year pharmacy major recorded a season-high 16 digs in a 3-1 victory over the Paladins. 

Ristic and Miladinovic are the first Blues players to be selected to an OUA all-star team since 2012-13.

First-year kinesiology major and Toronto libero Andrew Kos (Toronto, Ont.) will represent his hometown Blues on the OUA all-rookie team after a fantastic freshman campaign.

In his fifth and final season with the Lancers, middle hitter Josh Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) is an OUA all-star for the first time in his career.  The fifth-year human kinetics major finished second in OUA with a .392 hitting percentage and averaged 0.84 blocks per set, tenth best in the conference.  Edwards finished inside the top 20 in league scoring after averaging 3.3 points per set in 20 matches this year.

Despite missing the playoffs this season, the retooling Lancers had strong freshman seasons from Brad Gyemi (Tecumseh, Ont.) and John Moate (Oakville, Ont.), both of who have been named to the OUA all-rookie team.

Middle Mike Choja (London, Ont.) will represent Western as an OUA second-team all-star after leading his hometown Mustangs with 210 points.  Choja, a fourth-year student-athlete who attends King's College, finished inside the top 20 in league scoring and 13^th overall with 0.75 blocks per set.   

Ryerson Rams left Lucas Coleman (Brooklin, Ont.) rounds out the second-team all-star selections following an outstanding season in which he led the team to a 14-6 record and back to the OUA Final Four.  The Brooklin, Ont. native, who was named to the first-team last year, finished third this season with 3.99 kills per set to go along with .335 hitting percentage, which was fifth best in the conference.  Coleman, who is in his third-year of professional communication studies, trailed only McMaster's Maar and Toronto's Ristic after averaging 4.6 points per set.  

Left side Dale Towe (Caledon, Ont.) of the RMC Paladins finalizes the all-rookie team selections following his standout freshman season.

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL MAJOR AWARDS
Most Valuable Player – Stephen Maar – McMaster Marauders
Rookie of the Year – Chris Brunet – Queen's Gaels
Coach of the Year – John Barrett – Toronto Varsity Blues
Dale Iwanoczko Sportsman Award – Mike Tomlinson – Queen's Gaels

FIRST-TEAM ALL-STARS

Stephen Maar – McMaster Marauders – Left
Danny Demyanenko – McMaster Marauders – Middle
Andrew Kocur – McMaster Marauders – Setter
Erich Woolley – Waterloo Warriors – Libero
Braden Cok – Waterloo Warriors – Right
Marko Dakic – Queen's Gaels – Left
Arthur Szwarc – York Lions – Middle

SECOND-TEAM ALL-STARS

Stefan Ristic – Toronto Varsity Blues – Left
Aleksa Miladinovic – Toronto Varsity Blues – Setter
Lucas Coleman – Ryerson Rams – Left
Pawel Jedrzejewski – McMaster Marauders – Libero
Mike Choja – Western Mustangs – Middle
Josh Edwards – Windsor Lancers – Middle
Mike Tomlinson – Queen's Gaels – Right

ALL-ROOKIE SELECTIONS

Craig Ireland – McMaster Marauders
Matthew Passalent – McMaster Marauders
Brad Gyemi – Windsor Lancers
John Moate – Windsor Lancers
Chris Brunet – Queen's Gaels
Dale Towe – RMC Paladins
Andrew Kos – Toronto Varsity Blues